updated 01:30 pm EDT, Thu May 27, 2010

Foxconn says wage raise not connected to suicides

A spokesperson for Hon Hai Precision Industry, otherwise known by the Foxconn trade name, says the company is considering increasing wages for its laborers. This is not due to the recent employee suicides, however, the spokesperson said in a Thursday report. At its Shenzhen plant, Foxconn employs more than 400,000 staffers and the raise consideration is related to a short supply of workers in the area, according to the contract device maker.

The spokesperson also denied reports of Hon Hai Chairman and Foxconn owner Terry Gou promising to increase minimum wage levels by 20 percent. Workers' current monthly salaries are the equivalent of $132, or the minimum legal wage.

Since January, 10 Hon Hai workers at the Shenzhen plant have committed suicide by jumping from buildings, with four having possibly attempted suicide today.

Foxconn builds electronics for virtually every major manufacturer, including Apple, Dell, HP, Nintendo and Sony, among others.

Suicides are not the impetus...

I've worked on production lines and when

pushed to the limit of working overtime and weekends, more pay isn't the answer. You literally feel that you want to die because you get so tired and start feeling numb. I've heard that women take better to production line work than most men. I'd always dreaded seasonal production line work where you just can't seem to get production high enough to satisfy demand. You really just need a break in the routine. Higher pay would not stop the suicides but some days off would. Of course, there are always going to be some people pushed to the breaking limit more quickly than others. No humans should have to work under those conditions. I know bidding for contracts requires certain measures for getting the work done on time, but it's just plain cruel for employees. It's near impossible for workers to go flat-out for months at a time.